A Good Day

Woke up this morning as usual. It was another mid week like all weeks of the year.

Did my morning prayer and my workout on my home-gym as usual. True enough as usual, I extended my workout until the last minute to being late for work.

Yes. I was late to leave home... but the workout was great!

I thought I was able to catch the last bus to work before I was officially late to arrive. I opted for the cab when the "ShowNearBy" on my iPhone showed the next bus was 6 minutes later... I had missed my last bus and I was going late. My bad.

Well, you win on the workout and lose the money for the cab fare; a ten fold more expensive than the S$1.33 bus fare to work.

I got a cab less than a minute after standing and flagging for one near the bus stop bay. It was the white, Singapore Gas Company cab. I could see the driver inside as the cab approached me. He was an old man with sparse, white hair... in his early seventies, was my guess.

"Good morning, Sir." He quipped cheerfully as I was getting into the cab. He turned back and made sure he made eye contact with me.

I reciprocated his good intentions and told him my destination. As I continued telling him my preferred route to work, his left hand stretched over and back of the front passenger seat, holding a couple of sweets in pink and green wrapper each.

"This is for good luck." He said. "Take it, it's for you."

Wow! That was nice of him as thought to myself. Maybe it is nearing Chinese Lunar New Year, so such gifts are custom to him. In modern Singapore, old folks still stick to their customs... not so sure about the younger generations though, regardless from any race or creed. Being a cosmopolitan society has its downsides too, nevertheless.

"Thank you." I replied. Obligingly took the sweets from his hand, "That's nice."

The journey was pleasant enough. The old uncle kept quiet and gave me my time to enjoy the journey. The rush hour was not as painful because my preferred route avoided most of the traffic jams that one would expect in the morning.

Pleasant enough that along the whole route, I could count flocks of egrets, gracefully frolicking in the open fields along Tampines and Sengkang.

There were forty-seven of them in total I counted, plus or minus a few. My favourite thing to do when I had to take the cab to work. Of course these graceful birds are from as far as Siberia. Escaping the winter months there for sunny Singapore. So such bird-spotting-while-commuting hobby of mine is subject to the seasons.

I arrived five minutes after eight. Paid the metered fare and made a point to bid the cab driver a nice day first in return.

"You have a good day too... thank you." He replied. Making eye contact and smiled. Such a pleasant old man. He made today, a good day for me regardless of the craziness that I was expecting at work.

Thank you Sir.